From Western Sizzlin to Edwards AFB: Hardeeville native assumes prestigious post

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Todd Simmons can see the flight line through his office windows.

On Monday morning, the Hardeeville native glimpsed a B-1 Lancer — a swing-wing, supersonic bomber with nuclear strike capability — on the tarmac at Edwards Air Force Base. And he saw a B-52 Stratofortress, a hulking jet bomber with eight jet engines that’s been in service since the 1950s.

Simmons, recently named the top enlisted man at the Air Force’s second-largest base, said he’s spent a lot of time walking around B-52s.

He recalled standing in the rain near the nose of a Stratofortress parked at Royal Air Force Base Fairford in 1997. He was just three years out of high school then, just three years into what would become a 21-year stint as a member of the Air Force’s Security Forces. He performed “close-bound sentry” duty at the time, straying no more than 50 feet from the airplane to ensure no unauthorized person approached it.

The job could be boring, he said Monday morning during a phone interview. So, to pass the time, he’d walk laps around the aircraft.

His new gig is a bit more exciting. “I get to see America’s most advanced fighter jets take off and land every day,” he said of his new job, command chief of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, which he started June 20.

Simmons is the top enlisted advisor to Brig. Gen. Carl Schaefer, the wing’s commander. He advises Schaefer “on matters concerning morale, welfare, discipline, training, fitness and effective utilization of the wing's force of military, civilian, contractor personnel and their families,” according to base’s website.

Located about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, Edwards is where America’s next-generation military aircraft are tested. It’s a prestigious posting — Simmons is responsible for more than 10,000 military, federal and civilian personnel. He was one of 109 senior enlisted personnel nominated to be a command chief, he said, and just one of a handful of senior enlisted men selected to interview specifically for the Edwards job.

When he interviewed with Schaefer, the general asked him about his family and his history in the Air Force. And he shared with the general his work philosophy.

“Take care of the people, and the people will take care of the mission,” Simmons said. “And I’ve lived by that since Day One. You don’t have to worry about the mission first — the mission will happen if you take care of the people first.”

That philosophy has its roots in Hardeeville, what Simmons called “an extension of Hilton Head” and, therefore, the service industry. His mother and other family members have worked on the island for decades, he said, and their work was always about helping others first.

Simmons got his first job when he was 14 — he worked at a Western Sizzlin steakhouse. He remembers playing football and basketball in the “tight-knit community” that lived on Jenkins Avenue in Hardeeville. He said he surprised his family by joining the Air Force — he didn’t tell them till after he’d signed the paperwork, when he’d turned 18.

“I really didn’t talk about military service that often,” he said, remembering his senior year of high school. “It wasn’t always a goal.”

More than two decades later, Simmons sits in his office just off the Edwards flight line. The next-generation aircraft are exciting to watch, he said, but he has a fondness for the old B-52s.

“The fact that we can fly a 60-year-old jet in the most advanced combat situations is pretty amazing,” he said, “and says a lot about who we are as a country.”

Still, it’s Edwards, so there’s a lot to be excited about.

“This is the premier test base for the Air Force,” he said. “It’s where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. We hear the sound barrier broken every day. I just heard one 10 minutes ago.”

The sonic booms, he said, rattle his office.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "From Western Sizzlin to Edwards AFB: Hardeeville native assumes prestigious post."